Various abbreviations that appear in the specification and/or in the drawing figures are defined as follows:    3GPP third generation partnership project    BS base station    BSC base station controller    CELL_DCH RRC connected state using dedicated channels    CELL_FACH RRC connected state monitoring FACH    CELL_PCH RRC connected state monitoring PCH    CN core network    DCH dedicated channel    DL downlink (BS to MS/UE)    DPCCH dedicated physical control channel    DRX discontinuous reception    DTX discontinuous transmission    FACCH fast associated control channel    FACH Forward access channel    Iu interconnection point between RNC or BSC and a 3G CN    Iub logical interface between two RNC    LTE long term evolution (evolved UTRAN)    MS mobile station    NW network    PCH paging channel    PS packet switched    RNC radio network controller    RRC radio resource control    UE user equipment    UL uplink (MS/UE to BS)    URA user registration area    URA_PCH RRC connected state monitoring PCH    VPN virtual private network    WCDMA wideband code division multiple access
In a given wireless communication system the network parameterization and feature set may not be optimized for power saving in a mobile device, such as a UE or MS. One example use case which the NW may not be optimized for is periodic keep-alive activity for operation in a VPN. In addition, in that the UE/MS does not have control over the parameterization and/or the features that are configured, the UE/MS cannot optimize its power consumption dependent on data activity.
It was proposed in 3GPP TSG-RAN WG2 Meeting #60, R2-074848, Jeju, South Korea, 5th B 9 Nov. 2007, Source: Vodafone, RIM, Huawei, Title: UE “Fast Dormancy” Behaviour that the UE request radio connection release from the network if it knows that data activity has stopped for a period of time, e.g., push email activity has been completed. However, this document does not describe in any detail how the UE obtains this knowledge (a well integrated stack was suggested, i.e., the UE application is somehow radio aware). This document also does not address how the UE becomes aware if the network parameterization and feature set in the current serving network is already adequate for power saving purposes. In addition, this document appears to introduce problems in terms of generating redundant Iub and Iu traffic if the network/operator already supports certain power saving features, for example CELL_PCH, due to the release and re-setup of the radio and core network UE context, with all of the associated messaging and control plane activity.